The Ocular Findings and Fundus Fluorescein Angiography Characteristics in Behçet's Disease

Abstract

Abstract
Objective: To evaluate ocular findings and the characteristics of fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) in ocular Behçet's disease (OBD).

Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 104 patients (208 eyes) with OBD who were seen in our ophthalmology clinic between 1996 and 2006. The diagnosis of all patients was made according to the criteria of the International Study Group for Behçet's Disease. All patients underwent fluorescein angiography (FFA). Information on the patients' gender, age, disease duration, ocular findings, FFA findings, ocular complications, and visual acuities were collected.

Results: The mean age of the patients included in the study was 32.54±9.45 years. Of the total cases, 57 (54.8%) were male and 47 (45.2%) were female. Ocular involvement was bilateral in 73.1% and unilateral in 26.9% of the cases. The most common ocular finding was panuveitis, observed in 54.4% of the cases. The most frequent FFA finding was optic disc (OD) leakage, observed in 81.1% of the cases. The rate of anterior uveitis was 12.7%, while the rate of posterior uveitis was 32%. The proportion of eyes with a visual acuity of 0.5 or higher was 67.2%, those with a visual acuity between 0.5 and 0.1 was 21.1%, and those with a visual acuity of 0.1 or lower was 11.6%.

Conclusion: In OBD, the most frequent ocular finding is panuveitis, and the most common FFA finding is leakage from the optic disc. FFA plays a significant role in the diagnosis and follow-up of retinal complications in OBD.

Keywords: Fundus fluorescein angiography, Ocular Behçet's Disease, Uveitis.